- Over 30 games from around the world chosen as part of the festival’s second Official Selection with titles from Europe, North America plus China and Japan
- Games showcased online, on video and in-person at various places across LGF, running from 29 March to 9 April
- Titles appearing across five areas: Best of British, High Energy, Historical Adventure International Innovators and Pixel Power
Games developers from around the world are set to participate in this month’s London Games Festival, which today unveils the line-up for its third Official Selection.
The London Games Festival 2023 runs from Wednesday 29 March to Sunday 9 April. The festival’s Official Selection returns with over 30 games and apps representing quality, innovation and diversity. The selection highlights games across five categories: Best of British, High Energy, Historical Adventure, International Innovators and Pixel Power.
Once again, the games will be presented via a dedicated online showcase site available from the start of the festival, with associated store promotions at digital retailers and online profile videos produced by London Games Festival. Some of the titles will release special content during the festival period, while others have free demos available.
The Official Selection line-up is:
BEST OF BRITISH
SENTRY (Fireblade Software)
Time Team Games (Shadow Tor Studios)
John Wyndham’s The Kraken Wakes (Charisma Entertainment)
Mechinus (Huey Games)
Glam Pursuit (Larkylabs)
Rhythm Towers (Innoloop)
HIGH ENERGY
KAKU: Ancient Seal (BINGOBELL)
Robobeat (Simon Fredholm)
Fool’s Gold (Solar Flare London)
SquadBlast (UltraHorse)
Demonschool (Necrosoft Games)
HISTORICAL ADVENTURES
Let Me Out (4Happy Studio)
It’s a Wrap! (Chanko Studios)
Brewess (Fairer Games)
Mexico, 1921: A Deep Slumber (Mácula Interactive)
Crime O’Clock (Bad Seed)
Castle Craft (Twin Earth)
Midnight Girl (Italic)
INTERNATIONAL INNOVATORS
Lost Twins 2 (Playdew)
Stories of Blossom (Soft Leaf Studios)
Paleo Pines (Italic Pig)
Forever Lost (Altered Gene)
DREDGE (Black Salt Games)
Bramble: The Mountain King (Dimfrost Studio)
Arctic Awakening (GoldFire Studios)
Gift (Toydium)
LetterMe (Undone Games)
Pixel Power
Vessels of Decay (Aurora Punks)
Bilkins’ Folly (Webbysoft)
The Tartarus Key (Vertical Reach)
Mega City Police (Undreamed Games)
Gourdlets (Aunty Games)
“We cast the net wide for the chosen games in our 2023 Official Selection with tiles from all over the world, in a variety of genres, and even spanning different historical time periods,” said Festival Director Michael French. “This year’s London Games Festival once again showcases the depth of experiences and perspectives that can be found in the artistic works created by the global games community.”
For in-person attendees, some games will be showcased at Platform Bar in Shoreditch on Tuesday 4 April and Wednesday 5 April (www.experienceplatform.co.uk), while some individual titles are also on show elsewhere across the festival. Further details will be announced nearer the festival on special events promoting select games in the line-up.
The Official Selection is just one facet of the returning London Games Festival – other highlights include:
- Ensemble – profiling underrepresented ethnicities working in video games, the new cohort for which will be unveiled at the end of March.
- Games Finance Market – which connects investors and publishers with games creators.
- Tentpole partner events Now Play This, W.A.S.D, and the BAFTA Games Awards
The festival also includes a suite of Official Side Events delivered by the games community. These include:
- GDLX a one day indie showcase by Game Dev London, running on Wednesday 29 March
- The annual Stand Up For GamesAid comedy night on Monday 3 April
- Plus daily screenings of The Gallery, an interactive movie game, at venues across the city
For listings head to https://games.london/#whatson
London Games Festival is backed by the Mayor of London. It is delivered by Games London, an initiative from Film London, the capital’s screen industries agency, and video games trade body Ukie (The Association for UK Interactive Entertainment).
And as delegates and studios prepare to visit or connect with London, a range of businesses from across the sector have pledged support for the Festival.
These include Associate Partners Coutts and Taylor Wessing and festival partners Jagex, Outright Games, Rocksteady, The Story Mob, Tiny Build and Wizards of the Coast.
Robert Fenner, Partner of the Corporate Technology & Life Sciences team at Taylor Wessing said: “Partnering with Games London for the second year, we’re pleased to be back representing the best of the games and interactive entertainment industry. We are one of very few international law firms with a dedicated games team and renowned specialists in this area. London Games Festival provides a fantastic opportunity for innovators, investors, and advisors to come together and connect on the latest opportunities this billion-dollar industry is creating. The London Games Festival is a showcase of the top ideas and talent, and we are proud to be part of this thriving scene.”
“Wizards of the Coast is proud to partner with the London Games Festival for the second year running,” said Brian Trunk, VP & General Manager, Wizards of the Coast, International. “The imagination, energy and diversity of this wonderful festival also thrives across our Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons communities, so we’re delighted to be able to join in this celebration of outstanding game talent from all over the world in London in 2023.”
“We are delighted to be an Official Partner with London Games Festival. London and the UK more broadly continues to be an important base of operations for Outright Games,” said Beth Goss, CEO of Outright Games “With so many international eyes on London for this fantastic series of events, the festival supports our goals to expand our team and gain awareness for our brand and slate of releases, with more than 15 games based on globally adored franchises launching in 2023/4 alone.”
Rocksteady Studios added: “As a proud London game developer, Rocksteady are extremely pleased to be sponsoring the 2023 London Games Festival. It’s hugely exciting to celebrate the amazing connection that exists between London and the UK’s games development community.”
London Games Festival continues to grow year and year and in 2023 is set to include over 600 games studios and businesses across all its programming, making for its biggest showing since the festival started in 2016.
